Skype for Linux Alpha......
Afnan Rehman catches wind of a new version of Skype for Linux Alpha. Can it live up to expectations and become our comms app of choice?
Afnan Rehman catches wind of a new version of Skype for Linux. Can it live up to expectations? Also, rhetorical questions.
This will come as a surprise to many Linux users, who’ve long since abandoned the defunct app in favour of other open-source options. Skype for Linux Alpha is a new web application for Linux based on the existing Skype for Web website, which Chromebook users have used for voice calls. While not a full-fledged desktop application, it is a sort of application wrapper around the web interface to give it the look, feel and convenience of a native desktop application.
Let’s start with the good: the new interface is modern and offers more convenience and accessibility than the website version. Microsoft has promised to deliver regular updates to the site and add features to make it competitive with other voice and video communication services on Linux. The latest version at the time of writing supports multiple audio and video input devices and settings, a more reliable chat interface, and the ability to run in the background to avoid cluttering up your desktop. The download offers both RPM and DEB packages, giving more options for more Linux users to download and install on different distros. So far updates have been consistently released, adding mostly small but appreciated features such as audio voice messaging and notification settings, among other improvements.
The not-so-good? This version is so far essentially just a web wrapper looking like a desktop application. While certainly welcome, it is not the full-featured app that most users would want. In fact, it is currently missing one of Skype’s (and most other VoIP platforms’) most important features, video calling. Although Microsoft promises it in a future update, at this time Skype for Linux Alpha is missing an essential feature that many VoIP users need to communicate with family, friends and business contacts. The lack of this feature will certainly turn off most users until it is added. Adding to this, some users have been reporting inconsistent and dropped voice calls as Skype appears to be taking the time to upgrade its network infrastructure to accommodate increased demand.
Promises, promises
Another strike against the Alpha is that it is not open source – an important consideration for all Linux users. Many Linux devs and users will likely refuse to use Skype as long as it remains proprietary, which could limit interest.
Should you wish to give it a spin, the application is available for download from the Skype community forum website. As noted, there are both RPM and DEB packages, and it has been tested for Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, and OpenSuse, although your mileage may vary depending on your distro. Microsoft promises testing and optimisation for other distros in future updates to the client. If you’re looking for a Skype alternative, there are plenty available, some of the more popular ones being Ekiga, Linphone and Yate.
Drawing both cheers and jeers from the Linux community, Skype for Linux Alpha faces a long and possibly bumpy road to widespread adoption. Many will be wary, given that Microsoft dropped Linux support once before and this app is still not FOSS. Overall, this may be a way for Skype to make a comeback on Linux and win back some old users as well as gain new ones. It certainly faces hiccups as it takes its first steps back into the Linux community, although it has potential to become something great down the road. For now, given its lack of video calling features in particular, we’ll wait and watch for further updates before adopting this as our new VoIP application.